- The comparison
- Mobile
- Quibi First Impressions - Solid content that entertains for 10 minutes at a time
Quibi's first day was a success, if not in terms of user registrations and global viewers, two numbers we won't be hearing for at least a few days, at least in terms of consistent reading and its vast catalog of the content Quibi has delivered on swords. Some of the service's standout shows are already starting to emerge (props for Chrissy's Court and the third Punk'd revival) and there are already dozens of shows with hours of content... which is pretty good considering the average length of a episode. just five to seven minutes. Sure, what's on right now doesn't come across as quite the same caliber as a Netflix original, but it certainly could give YouTube Premium a run for its money. In fact, Quibi almost feels like the true successor to the service by offering short, premium content for a fee. It's an ambitious play in the streaming space at a time when other players are creating this type of content for free and posting it on YouTube, Vimeo, IGTV, and elsewhere. So what does Quibi like to use and is it worth signing up for? Here are our thoughts after spending an afternoon with the new streaming service.
Quibi 101: What is a Quibi? How much is it?
Quibi, for those who missed the Super Bowl commercials, is a streaming service specializing in short content: the kind of stuff you can watch over lunch and still have time to eat. All of the shows on the service are exclusive to the service, meaning you won't see them on YouTube, Facebook or anywhere else, and they usually involve Hollywood talents like Kevin Hart and Chrissy Teagan, or some of the biggest stars in music. like Chance The Rapper and Offset from Migos. It's a star affair. That said, it's not cheap to use all of these superstars, and Quibi isn't free. As it currently stands, it has two pricing tiers in the US and one tier in the UK: a €5.99 per month option with 10 to 15 seconds of pre-roll ads and a €7.99 per month ad-free version (the UK only has the latter at the moment). That's as much as Hulu here in the US and Britbox in the UK, and both services offer full award-winning content, so the bar is high enough for Quibi. To entice people to the service, Quibi offers three months free when you sign up, which is a nice bonus, but automatically signs you up for the service once your trial ends. So be sure to cancel if you decide you don't like the service.
![]()
(Image credit: Quibi)
What types of shows are available?
Quibi is kind of a madhouse right now, without a ton of user data, Quibi dumps anything and everything on the dashboard to see what's left. The tent series are the ones we've already mentioned: Chrissy's Court, a Judge Judy-type show that puts model Chrissy Teagan on the bench to settle small claims between friends and couples, and Punk'd, a redesign of the former TV show. MTV humiliates celebrities by putting them in outlandish, staged situations. These two shows already have a few episodes and Quibi says that he expects more shows to drop daily. After looking at them, they're not exactly the kind of thing we'd want to pay $5 a month for, but the good news is that there's more engaging content for more niche audiences. Some of our favorite content is Speedrun, a gaming news show from Polygon, and Weather Today from The Weather Channel. Sure, you can find shows like these on YouTube, but on Quibi, they represent a start to some solid, long-lasting programming. The last item, sustainable, is something Quibi will have to think about a lot in the coming weeks and months. As Netflix will tell you, high caliber content isn't cheap to produce and can quickly wreck a ship if not handled carefully. It's what killed go90, Verizon's social entertainment platform that similarly targeted millennials and is consistently ahead of every other service.
![]()
(Image credit: Quibi)
Does Quibi deserve to be a subscriber?
The good news is that, for now, Quibi seems to understand the need to produce content on a daily basis to maintain user engagement, and has made a large amount of content available to read and download. It's the kind of service that's fun to watch over lunch, when you can't be bothered to find something on YouTube, and it has serious star power that should appeal to a younger audience. At the same time, Quibi probably isn't for everyone. Despite some niche content that will appeal to different audiences, the pool is still not very deep. Only have fun for 10 minutes at a time, and not much more. This is especially true if you don't find the tent pole premises attractive. You could also argue that you'll find similar content for free on YouTube, and this could be a huge pain point for Quibi if YouTube revs up its own internal content creation engine. Ultimately, Quibi's saving grace is its generous three-month free trial that should be able to hook some users. It's the same strategy that Apple and Disney use to attract people to Apple TV Plus and Disney Plus, and it could be what attracts people. How the service will perform long-term remains to be seen, but it's something we'll keep an eye on... for 10 minutes every other day.